From Troubled Pasts
by bookdragon189
Summary: In one universe, Lucy Heartfilia became a famous Celestial Mage but in another something unexpected would forever change the course of her destiny. AU Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

Heaving a great sigh, the blonde woman cast her bored gaze around the small shop.

It didn't hold much of interest, mostly the tacky mass-produced toys that always managed to fascinate non-mages, other than that the store was filled with mainly cosmetic or decorative magic objects, nothing that many guild mages would be interested in.

Admittedly, she hadn't been expecting much from such a small magic shop in a town like Hargeon. The port was oddly sheltered from the influence of magic. The only mages they saw were those that travelled through as there were no mage guilds in or around Hargeon as the area specialised in trading goods. A local contingent of Rune Knights was the closest that the town had to offer.

"Is there anything that you're looking for in particular, miss?"

Lucy jumped slightly, caught up in her own mind. She barely suppressed the reflexive shudder at her lapse in attention, she could almost feel the severe disappointment of her closest advisor.

"Nothing in particular, sir." She smiled politely, shaking off the lingering unsettled aura. "I was admiring your range of products, I didn't expect to find any magic shops in Hargeon." The older man smiled back, taking the opportunity to launch into a sales pitch.

"We don't get too many mages in these parts miss, but those who travel through do appreciate my shop." He pulled something out from behind his counter, "Might you be interested in this, miss? It's a colour magic box, it can change the colour of your clothes. It's very popular with the young ladies." He proceeded to demonstrate the little toy to her. Her smile became a little more strained and her eyes drifted away from the shopkeeper. Suddenly she caught sight of an open box, its inside lined with dark velvet and cradling a bright silver key. Lucy looked away.

She looked back at the older man and his changing colours idly wondering what she would ever use such a thing for. A slightly maniacal glint entered her eyes. Scratch that, she had some pretty good ideas on what that particular magic could be used for.

"You know what sir, I think I might be interested in the box."

* * *

Lucy left the small store with a distinctly malevolent gleam to her eyes, plans already made for exactly how she would make use of this magic.

"Really?! Salamander's in town?! We have to go see him!" Her plotting was disrupted by the excited squeals of two girls racing past her.

She frowned. Salamander? Wasn't that the name of some mage from Fairy Tail? She faltered in her steps. This could ruin her plans. With the scale of damage that Fairy Tail was infamous for, there was no doubt that if Salamander's mission was also in Hargeon that something was about to go terribly wrong. She had to investigate and try to keep the interference to her own mission at a minimum.

Mind made up, she followed in the footsteps of the girls that had passed her only moments ago.

* * *

Her eye twitched.

This was not Salamander.

The man – if he could even be labelled such – that stood in the centre of the square, blatantly breaking a few laws, was known as Bora the Prominence.

She could count at least three on first glance. Possession and Usage of Forbidden Magic, as well as Using Magic to Alter Minds.

Her eyes hardened. She reached out into her requip dimension, hand closing around a familiar weapon.

Then a pink haired boy burst through the crowds of 'charmed' girls.

"Igneel!" He called, a hint of desperation and hope audible even to her, who had never met the boy before. "Igneel, it's me!" Suddenly he stopped. He stared at Bora.

"Who are you?" He asked. The criminal took on an offended look.

"Who am I? I am Salamander, surely you've heard of me before." The pink haired boy was already walking away, obviously immensely disappointed that the person he was looking for wasn't there.

Lucy was speechless.

She didn't think she'd come across two people so stupid in her life.

If she wasn't mistaken, then the pink haired boy – who was currently being assaulted by the women under Bora's spell – was Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander. So how on Earthland had he not realised that the sickening worm currently talking down to him was impersonating him?

And speaking of that, how had Bora not realised that the boy he was patronising was, in fact, the mage who he was pretending to be?

Lucy's eye twitched again.

A burst of sickly purple flame drew her attention to the words of the criminal she was currently glaring at.

"I'm having a soiree on my yacht tonight, and you're all invited!" He pronounced grandly, disappearing over the town on his purple fire cloud.

Lucy looked over to the Fairy Tail mage, who looked after 'Salamander' in apparent confusion.

For a brief moment she allowed the urge to rub at her temples. Then she turned and walked away,

A blue communications lacrima gleamed as she pulled it out of one of her inner pockets.

"Captain Lahar." She announced, infusing the lacrima with a trickle of her magic energy. In only moments the lacrima began to glow.

"Lieutenant Heartillia." The Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit greeted her. "I did not expect to hear from you so soon." He adjusted his glasses. "Has there been a problem?"

"Yes sir, the target has taken on the identity of Fairy Tail's Salamander." His eyebrow raised and she continued. "However Natsu Dragneel, known as Salamander, has arrived in Hargeon. There has already been one altercation and I believe that more will follow." The captain sighed.

"I see. That is troubling. Do you think you can control damages without breaking cover?"

The blonde mage hesitated.

"I should be able to however I would like to request for some reinforcements tonight, Bora the Prominence has invited much of Hargeon's female population to an event that shall be hosted on his yacht tonight. I intend to infiltrate but I would greatly appreciate some assistance with making sure that he doesn't escape." The captain nodded.

"I shall send word for a squad to prepare at the Hargeon Docks and another to prepare a barrier around the harbour. I am counting on you Lieutenant, make sure that he doesn't escape again."

Her eyes blazed as she replied.

"Of course sir, I will not let you down." With no further ado the Captain shut down the link and Lucy replaced the lacrima into a pocket of her coat.

Now to find a dress.

* * *

Nursing the beginnings of yet another headache, Lucy stared at the wine suspiciously. With acquaintances like hers, Lucy had been forced to become accustomed to only the finest wines, which this clearly wasn't. A subtle sniff revealed that there was something odd about this wine. Something very off.

On the surface the party seemed normal enough for some sort of rich playboy's party, there were a few tables spread out over the deck of the 'Salamander's rather large yacht. There was plenty of wine and drinks, all the women well under the repulsive criminal's Charm magic seemed to be enjoying the party. Guzzling down wine and crowding on the designated dancefloor, supposedly in the hopes of snagging the 'famous' mage as their partner. Their 'esteemed' host wove through the party, much reminiscent of a slug leaving a disgusting slimy trail behind him as he oozed false charm. Her eye twitched. She didn't think she could handle much more of that disgusting creature.

If her hunch was correct and Bora did indeed intend to take all these women into his slave trading operation, he was likely to have henchmen lurking somewhere. It was rather obvious to her, un-charmed as she was, that the waiters, standing between tables with ever more trays loaded with the wine, were all part of Bora's operation. He was likely to have more, however, as this was the largest snatch that he had attempted so far, presumably they were waiting below deck until Bora gave them some sort of signal.

Her eyes flickered to a table across from hers, a short slight woman sat there accompanied by a pair of empty wine glasses. Her head was slumped against the back of the chair as she slept soundly.

Lucy's eyes widened minimally, catching the unnatural drowsiness of the other partygoers, not even noticing that anything was amiss under the influence of Bora's Charm magic. They slowly sank into an induced slumber, unaware of the fate that rapidly approached with each moment that they spent unconscious. As they fell into sleep one by one, Lucy looked to a specific point of the harbour. For a moment a blue light shone. Then it flicked off. Once more it lit up a dim patch then fell back into the darkness. A dangerous twist entered Lucy's frown. That meant that the blockade was up now. There was nowhere that Bora could run.

Ignorant of his own fate, Bora stood amongst the unconscious women, a slimy smile plastered across his face. From the lower levels of the ship, more criminals began to emerge.

"Everything went exactly to plan, we'll be in Bosco before the Magic Council even realises that anyone is missing!" He announced, smirk wide with his success. His cronies laughed with him as he lorded over his 'victory'.

Lucy sighed. She placed her glass down on the table.

"That's where you'd be wrong, Bora the Prominence."

* * *

 **AN**

 **Fair warning to all readers, this is not only my first story but it also extremely self-indulgent, so there might be a few (and by that I mean many) plot holes.**

 **Please enjoy and leave your thoughts in the reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

"That's where you'd be wrong, Bora the Prominence."

The deck of the yacht fell into silence at Lucy's words. All of the criminals turned to face the mage, who couldn't help but shift slightly at the hostile attention. Despite her extensive training, she hadn't quite managed to shake her reflexive caution at the feeling of many eyes focused on her. She took a deep, steadying breath.

"Oh really? You managed to stay awake and you think you can stop me?" Bora just laughed. He was confident in his victory. It was understandable. To his knowledge, no one was yet aware of his deeds tonight, no one would ever be able to catch him and what could one girl do against him and his crew?

"Welcome aboard this slave ship girl, you're far too late to change anything. What makes you think we'll let you leave to tell the Magic Council a thing?" He taunted, cruel smirk fixed on his face.

Lucy probably should have been worried. Any sane person would probably have balked at the situation that she was in. Alone at sea with a slaver and his crew. Any help too far away to save her from harm and the added danger that one of the slavers might grow a brain cell and use one of the defenceless women as a hostage. They might have been able to catch Bora and sentence him for the charges they could already prove, but Lucy wanted to put away this worm for the rest of his life. She had him and all of his crew caught in the act, however, she had to proceed carefully from here.

Normally she wouldn't dream of trying to fight when any of the girls currently unconscious on the deck could be used as hostages. But Lucy had a plan.

A dark smile crossed her face as the boat began to turn, slowly but surely changing its course back to the harbour. She once again reached into her re-quip dimension, ignoring the worried shouts of the slavers, drawing out a suitable weapon. It was rather plain, sturdy and undecorated but most importantly – it was blunt. A quarter-staff. Her other hand slipped into the purse that she had left on the table, closing around a small orb. The criminals ahead of her shifted in confusion, but their leader seemed unruffled.

"I'm afraid you are the one who is too late 'Salamander'. My name is Lieutenant Heartfilia of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit of the Rune Knights." Bora's crew began to shift nervously, they weren't really equipped to deal with Rune Knights or hostile mages. "I am placing you under arrest for attempted kidnapping, human trafficking and use of forbidden magic." She tilted her head slightly. "I'd recommend that you come quietly."

"One Rune Knight?" Bora called. His tone was steady, his words brave but his face was drawn with apprehension. "Come men, what can _one girl_ do to us?" The crew, still uneasy, seemed to rally at their leader's confident words. "You two! Check the helm for intruders and get us back on course." He ordered, two of his men jumped to obey, clutching their weapons tightly. Lucy's expression didn't waver. "We can handle her. There's nothing she can do anyway, she's all alone…."

A thunderous crash cut off his words. All eyes turned to the one that would interfere with their stand-off.

A pink haired boy crouched in the centre of the deck, where he had landed directly between Lucy and her opponents. His attention was fixed onto Bora, a fierce anger blazed in his dark eyes. Some of Bora's crew shuddered at the promise of violence that the teen seemed to exude.

Then he collapsed onto the deck, face almost green. Sweat beaded down his forehead as the ship swayed from the force of the gentle waves. Bora and his group stared at the teen, dumbfounded.

Lucy ground her teeth. How stupid was this boy? First missing someone pretending to be him to his face and now boarding a ship in some sort of rescue attempt when he seemed to be extremely sea-sick? Noticing that her targets were still unresponsive with shock, she threw the orb over the boy. The lights of the boat seemed to catch its golden gleam. Lucy quickly turned her head and closed her eyes. Then the boat burst into a brilliant white light. Pained shouts rang out from the unprepared criminals.

She counted down in her head. Three... Two... One.

The light faded and Lucy spun around, launching herself into the group. The quarter-staff blurred with motion, flicking in and out of each criminal's guard and throwing them to the deck with envious ease. Lucy took great pleasure in grinding the worm, Bora, down into the deck. It was over in seconds, every member of Bora's operation laid out cold on his yacht.

Lucy frowned and let the quarter-staff rest on the deck.

"I expected more of a fight." She grumbled.

"I was going to help, but you seemed to have it handled pretty well Lucy."

The girl in question nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping around instantly.

"Dammit Assassin, don't sneak up on me like that!" The older man just chuckled, dodging Lucy's half-hearted punch. "You know that _she_ is going kill me for getting surprised by you again!"

The armoured man now identified as Assassin didn't give any verbal reply but she could tell he was smirking under that face-mask. Instead, he gestured towards the nearly comatose Fairy Tail mage laid out on the deck.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Lucy eyed Dragneel for a few moments.

"Just leave him. I'll deal with him personally after we get these women to safety." She turned back to Assassin, "And where are the two that came after you?" He just pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Good, now we need to properly restrain Bora and his crew. They're not going to stay unconscious forever."

* * *

Corporal Bold had been a part of the Rune Knights for over a decade. He had fought dark mages, punished the wicked and shed blood to protect the innocent. His life may not be peaceful, but he enjoyed the fulfillment of keeping safe the citizens of Fiore.

Above all he was content with his life, leading a small section of the Rune Knights stationed at Hargeon.

Hargeon was usually a bustling town filled with life, but tonight the air was tense. He frowned out over the water, watching as the large yacht cruised back into the harbour. From the looks of things, that upstart Lieutenant from 4th Unit had succeeded in her role of subduing the trafficker know as Bora the Prominence, an ex-member of the Magic Guild Titan Nose.

Don't get him wrong, Bold was glad to see another criminal safely off the streets but Bold did not approve of the woman that led the operation. Lieutenant Heartfilia had a glowing record, filled out with perfectly completed missions, lack of damages and known for her prodigious skill with her chosen weapons, the spear and the quarter-staff.

He didn't like her.

Lucy Heartfilia was more widely known as Lady Heartfilia, head of the enormously wealthy Heartfilia Konzern. She had partially taken over the company at the age of 14 after her father's unexpected death. After bringing her company to new heights she'd left the running to her assistant before leaving to join the Rune Knights. At the age of 16. In a swift rise, she became one of the 4th Unit's best undercover operatives and squad leaders, all before her 18th birthday. So at the age of 17, she had made her way to become one of Captain Lahar's most trusted Lieutenants.

Bold knew he wasn't the only one who found the whole thing suspicious. The majority of the Rune Knights believed that she'd bought her way into her position, it wouldn't be the first time that something like that had happened, nor would it be the last.

He didn't like Lieutenant Heartfilia but he would do as he always did and carry out his duty.

The ship docked without problems, the Lieutenant quickly organising the Rune Knights to secure Bora the Prominence and his accomplices, then the evacuation of the girls caught up in the criminal's schemes. One of the Lieutenant's squad, which was rather meagre for one of her position (many took it as further proof that the noble wasn't qualified for her job) but admired for their ever growing number of 'perfectly' completed missions, stood at her side as she loomed over a boy lying on the deck. Bold caught sight of the pink-haired man's Fairy Tail guild mark and snorted.

None of the Rune Knights had a very high opinion of guild mages, Fairy Tail in particular due to the ridiculous amounts of destruction and mayhem that they caused, leaving the Rune Knights behind to help clean up their messes. Of course, there were a few exceptions but the general rule for dealing with Fairy Tail was 'don't'.

Bold shook his head and left the mage to his fate.

He had duties to attend to.

* * *

Natsu stared up at the blonde woman. She looked relatively harmless in a dark red dress and a pair of flats, one hand clutching a black purse. She wasn't too much shorter than the man that stood to her right, yet he made a more ominous figure, clad in full-body armour with his face obscured by a dark crimson hood. Although the man looked on the surface, much more dangerous than the woman, she had a certain aura that left him uncomfortably reminded of an angry Mira. It didn't help that she held a quarter-staff that smelt almost like blood, but his furious anger at that poser claiming that he was part of Fairy Tail quickly overwhelmed any sense of self-preservation.

"Hey lady, where'd that guy go?" He asked, quickly pulling himself to his feet. The woman merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"You mean the fire mage who you tried to attack a few minutes ago?" She asked, her voice was dangerously calm.

"Yeah! That guy. Don't know what he was trying to pull, saying he was part of Fairy Tail!" Natsu growled, clenching a fist.

"You don't need to worry about him, he had been taken into custody."

"Argh!" He shouted, "I gotta give him a fist to the face, tryna dirty Fairy Tail's name!" Suddenly something occurred to him. "Happy?!" he called, "Where'd you go buddy?!" A faint call caught his attention and he made to jump off the boat before an iron grip caught the back of his jacket.

"I'm sorry Mr. Dragneel, I need you to answer a few questions for me. Namely, why you attempted to obstruct the course of justice?" Some part of Natsu's mind told him to run at the softness in her voice. He ignored it.

"Hey, what's the big deal lady? I gotta go find Happy and that poser bastard!" He turned, dislodging her hand from the back of his coat. "And how'd you know my name?"

"My name is Lieutenant Hearfilia of the Rune Knights," Natsu's face paled in horror. "I would appreciate it if you would spare a moment to answer my questions."

"Happy!" Natsu called desperately, hoping for the blue cat to appear and take him away from the rune knight ahead of him. Like a guardian angel, his partner appeared from the skies.

"Natsu! Quick!" With an ease gained from much practise, Natsu leaped into the sky Happy's tail curling around him.

"Go Happy!" Natsu cried, he had to get away quickly!

* * *

"Shall I go after them?"

"Don't bother, you know how difficult it is to get a member of Fairy Tail to answer for anything. Besides, we have other matters to attend to." Lucy turned to Assassin. "Thank you for your help, I appreciate you turning the boat for me."

"It's no trouble, Lucy. I appreciate the excuse to get outside every so often."

"Will you be returning to the estate now?"

"Yes, I shall. You know how to get hold of me if there are any problems."

"Thank you, safe journey." As soon as her words had left her mouth, he disappeared. Her eyes drifted back to the hordes of people that had been drawn to the shores. There was lots of work to be done.

* * *

 **AN**

 **Finally got some action in this chapter, sorry if anyone's a bit disappointed by how quickly Bora was taken down but don't worry because I've got some better fights planned for future chapters.**

 **The next couple of chapters are going to shed a little more light on why Lucy is so different to Canon Lucy and we'll be seeing a few more familiar faces.**

 **A cookie for anyone who can guess who Assassin is :P**

 **On a more serious note, how do you guys find the multiple perspectives in this chapter, or would you prefer I stick with Lucy's POV?**

 **Thank you to Ironfist713, ultima-owner (Yeah, I decided to make Lucy a Rune Knight in this story, but don't worry Fairy Tail is still going to play a huge part in Lucy's life) and Warmach1ne32 (Lucy is very different from her canon self due to a difference in people she was exposed to during her childhood, but she is still Lucy at heart so don't worry she's not going to be a female Kiritsugu) for their reviews and thank you to everyone who followed or favorited this story. Your support is greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

"So Bora the Prominence has finally been detained."

"Wasn't there a report of one of Fairy Tail's members attempting to interfere with the arrest?"

"Yes, Natsu Dragneel attempted to interfere, yet his efforts were thwarted by the actions of a member of the 4th Unit of the Custody Enforcement Squad."

"Ah, that was one of your Lieutenants right, Captain Lahar?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Heartfilia managed to carry out the operation without any damages or losses."

"That's rather impressive, especially considering that Fairy Tail's Salamander was the mage involved in this incident."

"Just what are you getting at, Siegrain?"

"Just an idea, that might help to reduce the damages without further actions on our part."

"Oh, do elaborate. This sounds good."

A smile spread across the youngest council member's face.

* * *

"They want me to supervise Fairy Tail missions?" Lucy's voice was unbelieving. Her usual politeness discarded in the wake of her Captain's troubling announcement.

"Yes. They were extremely pleased with the results of your operation in Hargeon, especially when Fairy Tail's Salamander was involved." She blushed and looked down.

"That was a one-off, sir, he basically incapacitated himself." Her retort was softened by the embarrassment she felt at the attention.

"Even so, yours is the first involving Fairy Tail that hasn't involved at least half a village being destroyed."

"But they decided to put me as the 'guild liaison'?"

"It is only a trial Lieutenant, you will be assigned to different teams within the Fairy Tail guild, specifically focused on the more destructive teams. It's not a permanent position, but if you manage to make a significant change then the Council will consider a promotion and perhaps even the opportunity to lead a squad focused on co-operation with the legal guilds." Her mind halted. Lead her own unit?!

Captain Lahar interrupted her internal panic, "The trial will last five weeks and at the end - if the results are favourable - the position will become permanent." He paused and graced her with a rare smile. "Just think Lieutenant, if you succeed then the amount of paperwork we have will be reduced significantly." Lucy smiled back, forcing down her fears.

"That would be a true miracle, Captain."

"Council Member Siegrain seemed particularly hopeful- in fact, he was the one to suggest the idea to the council." The Captain offered.

Lucy's mind raced. This was Siegrain's idea? He wanted her dealing with Fairy Tail? Admittedly, if this idea worked it would benefit the council greatly. But Lucy had always felt that something was off about Siegrain and perhaps this time she was onto something. Something that Council Member Siegrain didn't want her to know about. "I'll leave you with the details of your assignment, you may take the rest of the day off to prepare. You're expected to be in Magnolia by tomorrow. Good luck Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir." Still absorbed with her suspicions, Lucy left Captain Lahar's office in a daze, barely remembering to salute on her way back to her desk.

It took her a moment to properly process her Captain's words. She was expected to arrive tomorrow? In a rare display of despair, Lucy slumped over her desk and buried her head in her arms. Did the world hate her? The girl allowed herself a few moments to hide from the world before she straightened her spine and rose to her feet.

She had a lot to do.

* * *

It took less time than she had expected to prepare to leave. Knowing that she would have to find accommodation in Magnolia, Lucy decided to leave her apartment. Even though she didn't exactly lack for money, it went against her frugal tendencies to keep paying for an apartment that she wasn't sure to be returning to.

So she packed up all her personal belongings from her apartment, preparing a package of things to send back to the estate and a suitcase of what she would be taking with her. She talked to her land-lady and paid the coming months rent, apologising for the inconvenience.

Sometimes she thought it would've been easier to stay in one of the Officer Accommodation flats reserved for the higher-ranking Rune Knights, but she much preferred the relative peace that her flat offered. It was better for her state of mind to not be surrounded by colleagues that had never really trusted her skills or motivations.

To finish, she cleaned out her fridge, giving the food to the couple in the apartment next-door.

When she stood alone in what had been her place for the last year, all of her personal touches erased within only a couple of hours, she wondered whether it was bad that she couldn't notice much difference to the way it had been before she had started.

She asked her assistant to get someone to collect the small box of her belongings and headed to bed, planning to take the earliest train so she could get properly settled in before her new job started.

* * *

Lucy tapped her foot nervously. The train ride was dragging on. It had felt like she had been sat in the train compartment alone for hours, watching the scenery flash past her window. It was quiet, aside from the muted conversation of other passengers and the rumble of the train. Lucy wasn't comforted by it.

She had been told to report to the Fairy Tail guild master, Makarov Dreyar, as soon as she had arrived. The last time she'd been so nervous was when she first joined the Rune Knights. Lucy had been rather isolated in her childhood and still found large groups of people that she didn't know to be uncomfortable.

She especially dreaded meeting the guild members. The Council and Fairy Tail didn't have the best relations, and she knew that the guild members weren't fond of the Rune Knights, to put it lightly.

Many of her colleagues held a special dislike for Fairy Tail mages, but Lucy didn't share that sentiment. Of course, she hated the amount of paperwork that they created. Who didn't? However, their unwavering loyalty to each other and their willingness to help inspired her admiration.

She didn't think they would appreciate a Rune Knight interfering with their lives.

Lucy took a deep breath.

"Don't worry about it." She told herself firmly. "Everything will be fine."

Steeling herself, she straightened her uniform and tried to think about something else.

* * *

Lucy didn't allow herself to linger at the door of Fairy Tail, knowing that if she looked for too long her nerves wouldn't allow her to continue in. She had to admit that the building was beautiful, exactly what her younger self had imagined in the days that she had desperately wished to one day join a guild like Fairy Tail. When she had laughed at their eagerness rather than the now familiar routine where she had to clean up after them and listen to the multitude of angry complaints to the Magic Council about the property damage the guild had caused.

When she was little, Fairy Tail had represented the freedom that she had longed for. Away from the pity-filled gazes of the servants. Away from her angry father, who saw somebody else when he looked at her. Away from the empty spaces where her mother _should_ have been.

Her hands were steady as she placed them against the massive guild doors.

She didn't need that dream any longer. She wasn't alone anymore.

With a light push, the guild door swung open.

Then Lucy almost wished she hadn't opened it in the first place.

The Fairy Tail guild hall was in ruins. Tables had been knocked over, chairs lay splintered across the floor. Food and drink had been spilled off the tables and the only places that seemed to have survived were the bar and the mission board.

Not to mention that a large number of people, looking rather battered and bruised, had gathered in the centre of the hall, all holding their arms up into the air with a cheer, gigantic grins plastered on their faces. They all seemed to be looking up to a short old man standing on a banister for the Guild's second floor.

His eyes immediately locked onto her. For a moment she felt like leaving. She could immediately recognise the man as Fairy Tail's Guild Master – Makarov Dreyar. One of the Ten Wizard Saints. Not exactly someone that you wanted to have staring so heavily at you.

She cursed internally as his guild seemed to notice his distraction and within moments she had attracted the attention of the entire building.

"Umm..." She started nervously. "I'm here to speak with Guild Master Dreyar." Somehow her words came out stronger than she expected.

"No! You can't take Gramps!" Someone cried. Lucy recognised the voice of Salamander, the mage sounding fiercely defensive as he leaped out of the crowd of Fairy Tail mages, fire cloaking his fists.

Lucy's eyes hardened and she reached into her requip space.

Before she was able to pull out anything, a large fist slammed the fire mage into the ground. She flinched back, quickly tracking the fist back to Makarov Dreyar. She hadn't even seen him move!

"That's enough Natsu." He ordered, arm shrinking back to its normal size as he leaped to the ground. "I've been expecting her." His eyes once again met her own. "Lieutenant Heartfilia, yes?"

She nodded. "I assume that you received word from the council then, sir?"

"Yes, last night." A faint hint of irritation crossed his expression before it disappeared, tucked behind a perfectly polite smile. Lucy didn't think she would have spotted it, were she not so used to deciphering the less than expressive person that was her 'assistant'. "If you wouldn't mind joining me in my office, we can discuss business."

"Of course." He began to lead the way towards the stairs that reached to the second floor.

"Master, what's going on?" Another mage stepped forward, voice concerned. Makarov stopped for a moment and looked back towards his guild.

"It's nothing to worry about, children. Lieutenant Heartfilia and I are merely discussing an order from the Magic Council." He continued up the stairs and Lucy followed, thanking her foresight to leave her luggage in a hotel room before arriving.

* * *

"So." Makarov started, eyeing the young Rune Knight sat the other side of his desk. She looked a slight bit nervous but she seemed determined. "You have been assigned to Fairy Tail to try and reduce damages." She nodded.

"Captain Lahar sent the documents across. My job is to try and reduce the damage that some of your more… eager… teams cause. The assignment will last for a five week trial period in which time I will be accompanying selected teams on their missions. I will not assist unless there are citizens in danger, as I am here primarily to observe. The Magic Council is covering all the costs of this trial so you don't have to worry about payment or accommodation." She paused. "As this is only a test, the only thing that the Council are interested in is whether my presence makes any difference in scale of damage or not. If I do not succeed there will be no negative effect on your guild." Makarov sighed. Whose idea had this been?

"Why were you assigned?" He asked.

"One of your mages, Natsu Dragneel, interfered with my last assignment." Makarov winced. "Due to him incapacitating himself through his sea-sickness, I managed to complete the mission without any damages. By the time Mr. Dragneel had recovered, he was scared away by the presence of Rune Knights." Her irritation was plain on her face. "The Council decided that I may be able to assist in further reduction of damages so I was given this assignment."

"Ah." He replied. "That seems a rather… flimsy reason..." The Lieutenant gazed at him for a moment,

"Yes. To be perfectly honest with you Guild Master, I do not think that my assignment will make much difference. My previous success was down to luck, so I think that I will not be returning after these five weeks are over. But in the meantime, it will be a pleasure to work with your guild." Makarov snorted quietly. He doubted that her sentiment would remain by the time this assignment was over.

"It'll be a pleasure to have you, Lieutenant Heartfilia." He lied. Nothing good was going to come of the Council looming over his shoulder. "Now, shall we discuss the teams you will be involved with..."

* * *

Lucy sighed in relief as she finally left the Guild Master's office. It felt like they had been talking for hours about her new assignment and what to expect from her temporary colleagues. She knew that Dreyar wouldn't be happy to have a Rune Knight working right amongst his guild, rightly assuming that this was another Council plot to try and disband Fairy Tail, but he had been surprisingly helpful.

Lucy was a bit apprehensive about what was to come next. Guild Master Dreyar was going to introduce her to the guild and announce her first assigned team – Natsu Dragneel and his partner Happy.

She wasn't happy with this.

From personal experience, she now knew that the fire mage was quite dim-witted in some ways. Not to mention the frankly unbelievable amount of damage that he managed to cause on a daily basis. This meant that her first assignment was going to be horrible.

Oh joy.

A sudden movement ahead drew her out of her thoughts. Makarov had jumped onto the same banister that he had been standing on when she had arrived. The mages below immediately looked up, meaning the Guild Master barely needed to clear his throat to draw the rest of his guild's attention.

"I'm sure you lot remember Lieutenant Heartfilia," Lucy stepped forward slightly, drawing the eyes of the concerned mages. "She is a member of the 4th Unit of the Rune Knights. She is here on the council's orders." Worried murmurs rose up from the group of mages.

"What's she here for then, Gramps?" Natsu called up.

"Over the course of the next five weeks, Lieutenant Heartfilia will be working with us to try lower the scale of damage that you lot cause." He paused to fix Natsu with a heavy look. "I hope you'll all work hard to help the Lieutenant feel welcome here and show her what it means to be a member of Fairy Tail." He told them, yet again focusing on Natsu.

"Why'd ya keep looking at me, Gramps?!" Natsu cried, "I'd be a better help than popsicle over there!" A dark haired mage who was dangerously lacking in clothes, responded to his taunts.

"What did you say flame-brain?!" He growled.

"Are you going deaf, ice-princess?" The fire mage mocked. With an angered cry the other mage launched himself at Natsu. He quickly dodged out of the way, leaving the stripper mage to punch a tall, musclebound white-haired man, sending him flying across the guild. "See, icicle over here'd be useless!" Natsu shouted up to his Guild Master, oblivious to the brawl developing behind him.

Makarov didn't hear him, too occupied with the tears streaming down his face.

"It was going so well!" He wailed.

Lucy stared down into the impromptu brawl with a growing feeling of horror.

What had she gotten herself into?!

* * *

 _Meanwhile – In Era._

A certain blue haired mage looked up from the reports on his desk feeling a strange urge to smile.

Huh. Odd...

* * *

 **OMAKE**

"Well, I say to heck with the Magic Council!" Makarov exclaimed, eyes dancing with glee as the pile of paperwork burned in his fingers.

Lucy, who had been in the process of entering the guild hall, paused. She looked up at Makarov and cleared her throat. Makarov caught sight of the blonde Rune Knight and paled rapidly.

"Excuse me, I could've sworn you just said something about the Magic Council." Lucy stated, voice dangerously soft.

"N-no… Nothing at all-" Makarov stuttered, the blonde terrifyingly reminiscent of an angry Mira.

"Good. That's what I thought." The shadows twisting around her form settled. The guild breathed out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly her eyes darkened.

"I hope that isn't the paperwork that I spent _five hours_ working on last night." She smiled. "I wouldn't want my work to be _wasted._ " Makarov 'meep'-ed in despair, desperately shoving the burning paper behind him.

"No!" He squeaked. "Definitely not!"

* * *

 **AN**

 **Finally made it to the guild! Hope I did the introduction justice.**

 **We're going to have more action next chapter, sorry that this one was a little slow.**

 **Was Makarov's POV alright? I tried to change around a little less here but I hope it wasn't disorienting to anyone.**

 **Thank you to Warmach1ne32 (Yep, congratulations *gives virtual cookie* unfortunately, the _'she'_ that Lucy was talking about won't be showing up for a while. I'll drop a few hints along the way though), ultima-owner (You were very close! I hope that the first Fairy Tail chapter didn't disappoint) and Ironfist713 (Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'll admit that this story was heavily driven by my frustration at how little opportunities Canon Lucy got to be awesome, I hope that I don't make her too different at heart. Well done at the correct guess though *gives virtual cookie*) for their reviews and thank you to everyone who followed or favorited this story. I appreciate your support!**


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy cast a nervous gaze across the guild hall, not quite wanting to leave after all of the effort it had taken to actually get in and do what she needed to do, but at the same time, the thought of interacting with any of the guild members made her stomach turn.

However, she didn't want to return to a guild full of unfamiliar faces. So she walked towards the bar, intending on introducing herself to at least one person.

Unfortunately, the first person that she came across seemed to be absorbed in drinking heavily. By drinking heavily, she didn't mean that the woman had had quite a few drinks. No, this woman was downing some type of alcohol by the barrel.

Now Lucy liked the occasional drink as much as anyone, but drinking straight from the barrel? It was a wonder that the woman was still alive. That couldn't be good for her health.

Lucy turned away, hoping to find someone that was perhaps a little more approachable. Her eyes landed on a woman with long white hair, fringe tied up into a little upwards ponytail and wore a sleeveless maroon dress that hung down to her ankles. She stood behind the bar, filling up a pair of tankards with something that Lucy assumed was of an alcoholic nature.

As Lucy approached, her bright blue eyes flicked up from the bar. A friendly smile spread across her face.

"Hello!" She greeted. "You're Lieutenant Heartfillia, right? I'm Mira, it's nice to meet you."

Lucy let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding at the immediate welcome and cautiously took a seat at the counter.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too." Lucy smiled back, hoping that it didn't look too strained. Despite her trying day so far, Lucy really was glad to find some female company. Before she'd met her tutor, the female wizards of Fairy Tail had been huge role models to her in her childhood. Now though, it was a welcome reprieve from the male-dominated Rune Knights.

"Are you looking forward to working with Natsu?" Mira asked cheerfully as she slid the two full tankards onto the bar for a pair of eager looking mages who seemed to be more absorbed in ogling the white-haired woman than actually taking their drinks. Lucy tried to keep the annoyed twitch out of her expression.

"Absolutely." Lucy replied, tone overly sweet. Mira laughed, leaning on the bar to talk now that she'd served the drinks.

"He's not that bad," Lucy cast the older mage an extremely dubious look, conveying as much of her disbelief as she possibly could through her eyes.

"I had to deal with him on my last mission. I'm not exaggerating." She let out a sigh. "May I ask you something, Mira?"

"Sure." The other mage replied.

Lucy pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the fire mage who was very obviously watching her. He sat at a table with the blue cat, casting suspicious looks over at Lucy interjected by the occasional loud whisper to his partner.

"Is Mr. Dragneel actually stupid? Or is he just extremely reckless?" The two women stared at each other in silence. For a moment Lucy thought she'd overstepped a bit, too stressed to adopt her usual polite attitude.

Then Mira burst into laughter.

Ringing peals of laughter that drew the attention of the nearby guild mages and caused a heat to burn in Lucy's cheeks from the sudden attention. Lucy stared at the woman for a few long moments as her laughter slowly wound down into giggles.

"That's just Natsu!" She giggled, the sweetness of her voice taking away from the horror that Lucy felt at her words.

"You-" Lucy paused, mind still processing Mira's words. "You can't mean… He's always like that?!" She cried. Mira smiled, stifling further laughter.

"I'm sure you'll have a great time!" Lucy resisted the very tempting urge to bury her face in her hands for a few moments and block out the world. Why was this her life?

"Listen, kid!" The Guild Master's raised voice drew the attention of most of the mages. Lucy looked over. He was sat on the counter further down from her and Mira, frowning down at a child. "Your old man's a wizard! And like every other wizard in this guild, he can take care of himself." His tone shifted to something rather condescending. "Now go home, have some milk and cookies and _wait_ -"

"JERK!" The kid cried, some short boy with dark hair and an odd stylised 's' gold necklace, as he punched Dreyar in the face. The old man flew off his perch on the bar and went crashing to the floor. Ignoring the commotion he'd created, the boy ran towards the doors crying. "I hate you all!"

Lucy stared after the child with concern.

"I know it sounds like the master doesn't care," Mira murmured, tone serious. "But he really is worried."

A crash echoed through the quiet of the guild hall. Dragneel stood over the singed splinters that had once been a table. Wordlessly he gathered a large backpack and made for the exit. The blue cat trudged after him.

"This doesn't look good master." One mage with an odd bob-like haircut told Makarov as he approached from his previous spot at the guild's mission board. He leaned forward over the bar causing the necklace of small skulls he wore to rattle slightly. "You know how he can be. I bet he's going up to Mt. Hakobe now to go save Macao."

Another mage sat ahead of them with a drink let out a sigh. "When is that kid ever gonna grow up?" The mage with the skull necklace rubbed the back of his neck.

"Who knows? Going after Macao isn't gonna do anything but hurt his pride." Looking between the two mages the Guild Master finally spoke up, returned to his previous position on the bar.

"Remember Nab." He started, addressing the mage with the skull necklace. "We can't choose another's path. Just leave him be." Suddenly his gaze flicked over to Lucy who had made no effort to move.

Lucy didn't like the completive look on his face.

"Lieutenant." He called. "How about you go with him?"

She shook her head.

"This isn't a sanctioned mission, Master Dreyar." Her response made his eyes narrow.

"It might not be, but it'll give you two a chance to get to know each other." Lucy had a sudden sinking feeling that 'no' wasn't going to be an acceptable answer.

"Fine." She agreed reluctantly. "Where will I be going and what was the mission to do?" If she was going on a quest with Dragneel, she needed a bit more information.

"Macao took a job to Mt. Hakobe, to hunt down a group of vulcans on the mountain summit. They were attacking traders." Lucy made a small pained sound. Mt. Hakobe? Vulcans?

If there was one thing that Lucy hated more than the cold, it was vulcans.

Although Rune Knights didn't usually handle jobs that didn't involve dark mages, there was always a danger of running into monsters like vulcans whilst travelling. The horrible beasts survived through stealing peoples bodies using a magic called 'Take Over'. Their victims had to be recovered within days through knocking out the vulcan or causing it great injury. Wounds accumulated by a vulcan did not transfer onto the person whose body they had stolen but it did increase the rate at which their victim was consumed by the vulcan.

It was a horrific experience to go through and not many lived long enough to be rescued.

Luckily for Macao, mages lasted much longer than non-mages so even if he had fallen prey to one of the vulcan that he had been hunting, the rescue party still had a fighting chance to recover the man alive.

Shaking off her thoughts Lucy nodded at the Guild Master and quickly made her way off to find some more appropriate clothes, she'd have to be fast if she was going to catch up with the fire mage.

But as she left Lucy couldn't help but wonder what the mages of Fairy Tail were truly like if they were willing to leave one of their own to the fate of being a glorified battery for a vulcan over hurting his pride.

* * *

Wind howled over the mountains, screeching like a banshee and throwing yet another gust of snow at the two mages. Natsu took the lead, ignoring the cold even though he wore the least clothing of the pair. A few steps behind him a very sceptical Rune Knight followed. With every gust of wind, she would send yet another baffled look at the unaffected fire mage. How was he still moving? Did he not feel the cold?

Lucy herself had changed into suitable clothing before she caught up with the rash mage. What had he been thinking, charging off to go rescue this Macao person without even a moment to plan?

She shivered, pulling her hood down further. Lucy did not like the cold.

"Why did you even come along?" Natsu called back, eyeing her suspiciously over his shoulder. His annoying blue cat trudged along beside him, copying the fire mage's actions.

"Unless you're losing your memory, Mr. Dragneel, surely you remember your guild master assigning me to work with you?" Lucy bit out in reply, already bad mood worsened by the biting cold that crept through her layers of clothing.

The boy seemed to squint even harder at her, the irritation sailing straight over his head.

He snorted dismissively and returned his gaze to the snow-covered path ahead of them.

"MACAO!" His calls echoed through the blizzard. "MACAO! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Lucy winced at his loudness. She turned away from her companion. Her eyes trailed around what little she could see of the mountain path that they climbed.

Nearly everything was obscured by the blinding white blizzard as the storm screamed it's rage across Mt. Hakobe.

Lucy suppressed a sigh. This was going to take a very long time. She looked back forward.

Then she cursed softly.

"Take my eyes off him for one second and he disappears!" She muttered angrily, marching through the snow with renewed vigour.

"Macao! Where are you?!" Natsu's voice seemed much quieter through the veil of falling snow. Lucy followed the sound of his voice, wondering what he hoped to accomplish. Sound didn't travel well through the storm and if Macao had not returned back to the guild by now, surely he wasn't in any fit state to respond to Dragneel's calls. Suddenly, the fire mage's shouts stopped.

Lucy frowned, walking a little faster. Then she heard a muffled rumbling noise. Horror flooded through her as she spotted the very ground begin to shift ahead of her. Living near a somewhat mountainous area-Lucy knew that avalanches posed a very real threat.

Catching sight of a dark shape in the air Lucy could just about recognise the blue cat carrying Dragneel.

For a moment some part of her marvelled at the sight. It seems as if at least one of the pair had a scrap of self-preservation.

Not the time! She told herself, spinning back around to the way they came. Lucy ran as fast as she could, hoping that she could at least find some shelter. Behind her it seemed quieter than she expected, but Lucy didn't dare look back. All her mind concentrated on escaping the avalanche. Then the ground moved under her feet and she stumbled. One moment was all it took. Lucy felt an immense force slam into her – then everything bleached white.

The last thing she could remember was a burst of pain as something crashed into her.

Then nothing.

* * *

Her head ached, Lucy noted with a pained groan as she returned to consciousness. Then she immediately shivered, registering the chilling cold that surrounded her. What had she been doing?

She rubbed at her temples, eyes opening to a floor of blueish ice. Suddenly she remembered, the avalanche!

She pulled herself into a seated position, wincing as her ribs ached in protest. Where was she? And what the heck had happened?

Lucy looked around, suddenly becoming aware of a repeated chant behind her. The Rune Knight frowned, had someone saved her? Moving slowly in the hope of easing the pounding in her head, she swung her head around. Then immediately flinched back as her eyes met the monkey-like face of a vulcan. It was a large monster, with a pointed head and an elongated chin and pointed ears. It loomed over her with an odd gleam in its eyes.

Reflexively, Lucy reached into her re-quip space pulling out her favourite weapon and pulling herself to her feet. She immediately creates some space between herself and her new opponent. She lifts her weapon and glares at the vulcan.

Then she stops.

Is she holding a ladle? Her mind seems to stop for a moment.

She was sure she reached for her staff...scratch that. Why the hell was a ladle in her re-quip dimension?!

It wasn't even a weapon!

"Hey, you big ape!" A familiar voice cried out, forcing Lucy out of her stunned stupor. She turned her head to see Dragneel sprinting towards the vulcan "Where's Macao?! Tell me!-" Inevitably, the mage slips on the ice. The momentum from his previous charge sends him spinning across the ice and crashing into one of the cavern's walls.

Lucy resisted the urge to sigh, feeling that during her partnership with Natsu Dragneel, this was going to become a common occurrence.

The vulcan seemed unfazed – starting some weird victory dance through the cavern.

"Spill it monkey…" Dragneel growled, pulling himself out of the crater he'd created in the wall. "Where's my friend?" He pulled himself to his feet and crossed his arms, fixing his gaze upon the vulcan. "You understand me, right? He's a human man. Now, tell me where he is!" The fire mage insisted.

The vulcan scratched its chin in apparent thought.

"That's right!" Dragneel shouted, jabbing an accusing finger at the beast. "Where are you hiding him?!"

Lucy stared at him in disbelief. Did he really think that the monkey was going to help him?

Suddenly the vulcan waved a hand at Dragneel, pointing off to the side.

"Hey, I think he's gonna show me!" Natsu cheered, racing off after the vulcan.

Surely he has a plan, Lucy thought. No-one can be that gullible, right? He had to have a plan.

"MACAO!" Dragneel shouted, peering out the hole in the cavern. In a move that literally anybody could have predicted, the vulcan launched the fire mage out of the hole.

Okay, Lucy amended in her head, maybe I gave him _far_ too much credit. He really is an idiot.

Ignoring the fire mage's fading cries (He had that flying fur-ball. He'd be fine.) she turned to the vulcan that had resumed its odd dance.

"No like man!" It cheered. "Me like woman!"

Lucy was done. She had a horrible headache, her ribs ached and she was cold. She was ending this here. Throwing the ladle back into her re-quip dimension (Who knows? It might actually be useful at some point in time. Maybe.), Lucy pulled out her staff. The vulcan was still occupied with its victory dance, so it didn't take much effort for Lucy to sneak around behind it.

With a vicious force, she kneed the vulcan between the legs. It sunk to the floor with a satisfying squeal. She smiled darkly as she jabbed the back of its head with her staff. It immediately crumpled to the floor.

Suddenly a golden light shone off of the vulcan. Lucy quickly looked away, remembering that after a vulcan was defeated the take-over magic it used would fade, leaving behind the person that it had been possessing. She swung back around as soon as the light faded.

Laid down in place of the vulcan was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He had dark blue hair and a beard of dark stubble, clothes tattered as the aftermath of a struggle? But more pressingly, a pool of blood was beginning to form under him.

Lucy cursed again.

Acting quickly she pulled her First-Aid kit out of her re-quip dimension. She flipped it open and pulled out a clean patch of cloth and began to press against the wound. Swiftly pulling his jacket aside, she began to secure the dressing in the hopes that this would slow the bleeding.

She cast a worried look over the man, finally catching sight of his guild mark.

Fairy Tail. This must be Macao.

"MONKEY!" Dragneel's familiar shouts echoed as he flew into the cavern, ready to resume his fight.

Lucy ducked, trying to tend to the other mage's wounds. She heard a crash as the fire mage connected with the cave wall behind her.

"Hey! What've you done to Macao?!" He cried, she heard him drag himself out of the wall.

"Shut up Dragneel. Your guildmate is in danger, I need your help." She told him. For once managing to read the mood, he shut up. He peered over her at Macao, dropping his large backpack at the side.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He must have been injured fighting the vulcan." Her eyes flicked up. "We're going to have to cauterise the wound. Can you do it?" Natsu's expression hardened.

He nodded.

Looking serious for once, his hand burst into flame. Lucy could immediately feel the change in temperature. After another moment he extinguished the fire.

She pulled off the blood-soaked dressing, Natsu immediately pressed a blazing hot hand over the wound. Lucy held Macao down as he thrashed and screamed in protest.

When the wound had stopped bleeding, she indicated for him to remove his hand. The fire mage complied and Lucy immediately got to work cleaning and dressing the wounds.

"Lay that blanket out." She ordered. "We need him to be on something warmer than this floor." As the fire mage moved to do as she said, taking the blanket from the top of his pack, she tied off the rest of his wounds.

She looked over Macao again in worry.

"Did you bring any food or supplies?" Lucy asked. The other mage shook his head. She sighed and looked back down. "Okay. Let's move him gently onto the blanket."

One step at a time. She told herself, we can do this.

They managed to move the injured man with minimal fuss, he seemed to be worn out from his previous movement.

Natsu hovered over him worriedly. "Don't you dare die Macao!" His voice was unsteady with concern, "Romeo's waiting for you! Open your eyes!

Lucy was surprised to see the older man's eyes open slightly.

"Natsu..." He murmured.

"You're okay!" The fire mage cried, signature smile spreading across his face.

"I'm so pathetic..." He started, wincing in pain. "I defeated nineteen of those brutes… but the twentieth… that's the one that got me..." He paused. "I'm so angry with myself...I'm embarrassed to go home and face Romeo..."

"Don't be like that!" Natsu cut in, face serious. "C'mon man, you took down nineteen monsters!"

Lucy frowned. She knew that he'd fought a group of vulcans, but twenty? By himself?

"Now let's go home. Your little boy's been waiting for ya." Natsu held out a hand for his guildmate.

"I don't think so." Lucy told them firmly. "You've lost a lot of blood sir, you need to rest. There is no way that you can make it safely out through this blizzard in your condition. Not to mention you're probably suffering from magic depletion after your ordeal." The older mage settled down, seemingly pacified by her valid argument. Suddenly a dark smile spread across her face. "And your son is the least of your problems if you're stupid enough to take on a job like this alone." Macao paled and nodded. Her gaze swung to Natsu. "And you. What do you think you're doing, trying to encourage an injured man to do something like that? I appreciate the help but if you know what's good for you, you won't try something like that again. Will you?" Natsu's survival instincts seemed to have kicked in and the boy shook his head. A sudden sharp pain in her head reminded her of her own problems. Lucy sighed deeply and massaged her temple.

"Can you get some water boiled?" She asked the fire mage. He looked around nervously. She fished a metal pot out of her re-quip space (she honestly could not remember when or even why half of the stuff in her re-quip space was actually there but for this occasion, it worked in her favour.)

"Fill this with snow." Lucy instructed, "Heat it until it melts and boils, then let it cool." The fire mage shot her a sullen look but eventually went to carry out his task.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **AN**

 **So, finally a bit more action!**

 **Things are going to start getting a bit more serious next chapter, as changes start to become more apparent.**

 **Time between updates is probably going to increase rather significantly as I have a busy two months ahead, so sorry for the delays but I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Thank you to ultima-owner (Poor Lucy's gonna be pretty stressed by the end of the five weeks, not sure that her opinion of Fairy Tail is going to be too high either!) for their review and thank you to everyone who favourited and followed! I really appreciate your support!**


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